Off-Campus Summer Term Courses 2024
St. Lawrence University offers an array of dynamic off-campus summer courses around the world. Explore this page to learn more!
France The Bahamas London Ecuador Kenya
Application links are provided below.
Summer 2024 course application deadline: December 6, 2023
Tentative Course Fees:
1 SLU Unit - $4,635* + airfare
1.5 SLU Units - $6,180* + airfare
(*Summer 2024 course fees, pending Board Approval.)
Students will be billed a $30.00 application fee after submission of their application.
Selected students are required to pay a $400 program deposit by January 20, 2024.
Students are required to submit the full summer course payment via the instructions provided on Studio Abroad by February 17, 2024.
All courses are contingent on sufficient enrollment and course fees are subject to change. Course fees do not include the cost of airfare.
Note: Seniors intending to graduate in May 2024 may apply/participate on summer courses with the permission of the instructor, but will be ineligible for financial aid. Priority in admission will be given to current students.
If you have questions about any of these programs, please contact the program instructor(s).
The European Union: Past, Present, and Future
Students should verify that they are eligible to travel to GERMANY, FRANCE, and LUXEMBOURG before applying.
Instructor: Professor Mert Kartal
Dates: July 9, 2024 – July 23, 2024
Listing: Government; Approved to count toward the European Studies minor
Units: 1 SLU Unit
Pre-requisites: None
Course Length: 2 weeks
Course description: This two-week, off-campus summer course is designed for those of you who are interested in a hands-on exploration of what is arguably the most ambitious form of inter-state cooperation in the world, the European Union (EU). When learning about the cultural, historical, and political factors that have shaped the EU, we will visit several sites of key importance for Europe. This course will also feature lively discussions on current issues before the EU (such as the Russia-Ukraine war, the rise of right-wing populism, refugee flows, and COVID-19) and the role of culture, diversity, and human rights in Europe facilitated by prominent scholars as well as current and former policy-makers.
Apply to Study in France, Germany, and Luxembourg
Supporting Sustainable Solutions in the Bahamas
Students should verify that they are eligible to travel to THE BAHAMAS before applying.
Instructors: Dr. Kearney Coupland
Dates: May 18, 2024 – June 2, 2024
Listing: Environmental Studies
Units: 1 SLU Unit
Pre-requisites: None
Course Length: 2 Weeks
Course description: Developing sustainable systems-focused solutions to today’s ‘wicked’ problems requires incorporating perspectives from different disciplines, backgrounds and worldviews. In this two-week, field-based course you will work with community partners on the islands of Eleuthera and Harbour Island in the Bahamas to address real-world environmental, economic and social sustainability challenges in small islands.
Organizations and businesses across the Bahamas are working towards sustainable development by encouraging resilient physical infrastructure—such as food, energy, and water systems—and inclusive social infrastructure- such as community engagement and adaptive business models- to strengthen small islands and demonstrate opportunities for transformational adaptation. As part of the effort to enhance community engagement and island resilience on both Harbor Island and Eleuthera, you will work in groups to collaborate with community partners to identify, ideate and encourage sustainable solutions using a hands-on, project-based approach grounded in design thinking. You will observe systems to define the problem based on the needs and observations of the every-day users of the systems and develop solutions by looking beyond the obvious issues and examining indirect functions and interactions that might be influencing the effectiveness of the system. Finally, you will present your solutions to community stakeholders to receive feedback, which you will incorporate into a final report.
Throughout the course you will learn about the particular opportunities and challenges faced by small islands in developing resilient and sustainable solutions to ‘wicked’ problems while learning the design thinking approach to hands-on problem-solving.
The Neuroscience of Fear (London)
Students should verify that they are eligible to travel to LONDON before applying.
Instructors: Dr. Elyssa Twedt
Dates: July 4, 2024 – July 27th, 2024
Listing: Biology, Neuroscience, Psychology
Units: 1 SLU Unit
Pre-requisites: BIO102 or PSYC101
Course Length: 4 Weeks
Course description: Brain structures that govern the fear response are shared across humans, mammals, birds, and reptiles. These structures have been evolutionally preserved because fear helps to protect us from danger, injury, and death. Though the dangers of modern society differ substantially from those of our ancient past, aspects of our primal fear instincts remain. Are such emotions merely intrusions from another time or do they still have a function in our consciousness today? With a focus on the fear response, this course will examine the evolutionary foundations of emotions, how they can be defined and measured, what role they play in the development and treatment of psychological disorders like anxiety and PTSD, and their role in perception, cognition, and everyday decision-making. Students in this course will examine this issue from a multidisciplinary perspective, synthesizing work from the fields of biology, psychology, and neuroscience.
Exploring Ecuador’s Biodiversity: From the Amazon to the Andes and the Galapagos
Students should verify that they are eligible to travel to ECUADOR before applying.
Instructors: Dr. Sue Willson
Dates: June 5, 2024 – June 29, 2024
Listing: Biology; this course will count as a BIO 200-level course w/ LAB for the Biology major, and a BIODIV credit for the Conservation Biology major.
Units: 1.5 SLU Unit
Pre-requisites: BIO 101, ENVS 101, or GEO 100-level course, or by permission of instructor.
Course Length: 3.5 Weeks
Course description: Students will learn through immersion in this 3.5-week course on ecology, biodiversity, and conservation in Ecuador. Students will visit four distinct tropical ecosystems: the lowland rainforest of the Amazon, the high-elevation Andean grasslands, where volcanoes are visible on all sides, the humid montane cloud forest, and the renowned Galapagos Islands. Students will learn first-hand from Ecuadorian biologists, guides, and community members, as well as through course readings, discussions, and lectures. The course structure provides ample opportunity to learn about Ecuador’s rich cultural heritage, the indigenous highland Quechua culture, and how Ecuador can conserve its incredible biodiversity in the face of climate change and resource extraction.
Kenya Biodiversity Safari
Students should verify that they are eligible to travel to KENYA before applying.
Instructor: Dr. Alex Schreiber and Dr. Abdelwahab Sinnary
Dates: May 22, 2024 – June 15, 2024 (tentative)
Listing: Biology (BIO195 for non-majors; BIO295 for majors)
Units: 1.5 SLU Units
Pre-requisites: None
Course Length: 3.5 weeks
Course description: In this month-long, field-based course you will study conservation biology through game drives and treks on both land and water, coming into contact with giraffe, zebra, elephant, and rhino, as well as predators like lions, hyenas, leopards, and eagles. You will spend 10 days exploring the savanna grasslands and lakes of Kenya’s Great Rift Valley, where you will study mammalian and avian ecology, consider the impacts of tourism and poaching on the national economy, and examine methods of balancing wildlife conservation with economic development in the Naivasha/Nakuru region. Next, you will spend five days conducting hands-on field research at Ol Pejeta Conservancy (OPC) in Laikipia, Central Kenya. You will test the interesting hypothesis that cattle can be used to actually improve range ecology for the wild ungulates and also benefit the area’s key predators. Finally, you will spend one week ascending 18,000 foot-tall Mt. Kenya, the second-highest mountain in Africa, and the source of most of Laikipia’s water. Here you will learn about the impact of climate change on the region, and also how you and the animals that live there adjust physiologically to this unique high altitude ecosystem.